Strength in Numbers: Lesser Pairings Collection
by AbsintheJade21
Summary: This will be a one-shot/short story collection mainly focused on the lesser pairings of Oofuri. Spoilers for recent anime episodes and manga chapters. Next up: Sakaeguchi and Suyama after practice! Enjoy
1. Number Ten and Number Three: Hand

A/N: This is going to be a short-story collection mainly focusing on lesser pairings in Oofuri, which I do not own by the way. First up, Nishihiro/Oki. Spoilers for the Bijou-Sayama arc.

**Number Ten and Number Three: Hand.**

"Psst! Oki!"

The first baseman looked around the dugout wildly until he saw a hand beckoning towards him from the locker room. Glancing around the bench to see who was missing, Oki realized that the hand could only belong to his classmate Nishihiro. Oki glanced around one more time before darting into the locker room.

"Nishihiro, what's going on?"

Oddly secretive, Nishihiro grabbed Oki's hand, dragging him to a far corner of the locker room by the showers. Oki winced at both Nishihiro's tight grip and freezing temperature of his hand.

"Nishihiro…your hand…"

"I'm scared Oki," Nishihiro said in his usual matter-of-fact way.

"I mean, I've always wanted to play in a game, but not like this. And you didn't see Abe before in the dugout. He looked so…scared and helpless…"

Nishihiro trailed off and shivered.

"If someone like Abe can be that scared…I just don't want to make a mistake," the now left fielder finished, breathing somewhat heavily from nerves. He looked wide-eyed and expectantly at Oki, still shivering as tiny rivulets of sweat slowly made their way down his face.

Oki squeezed his eyes shut and solidified his grip on Nishihiro's hand. So Abe had been scared. Hell, they were all scared. Before his thoughts could wander into dangerous territory, Oki shook his head to clear out the images of Abe reaching over the sliding catcher because of his off throw. This wasn't a time to feel any sort of self-pity, especially with Nishihiro looking at him so anxiously.

"I…"

He tried to think of some words to comfort his friend, but they somehow wouldn't come. Oki had seen how hard Nishihiro worked at every practice, despite being far less strong and physically able. He had also seen Nishihiro doing what he did best, helping Momokan with their training schedules, eating schedules, even Abe had come to Nishihiro once or twice for advice on how to bulk up Mihashi.

Suddenly, the first baseman found himself pressing his lips to his teammate's, crushing Nishihiro's hand in his own. For a moment the two stood still, lips touching awkwardly, before Nishihiro began to move under Oki, reaching down to rest his hand gently at the base of Oki's neck, where his unruly hair curled out from under his baseball cap.

"I…uh…I…." Oki stuttered between heavy breaths. He could feel a bead of saliva at the corner of his mouth, but resisted the urge to wipe it. Impossibly, kissing his classmate was something that had come over Oki in an instant, and also something that he had wanted to do for a while.

"O-oki," Nishihiro breathed.

"I'll get a hit!" Oki yelled, uncharacteristically loud. "Then the pressure…it won't be so bad, right?"

The two paused for a moment, seemingly frozen, with their hands intertwined. Oki watched as Nishihiro's smile began to broaden until it nearly spanned his face. Nishihiro's hand was now completely warm as he gripped the first baseman's palm tightly.

"Thanks, Oki."


	2. Number Four and Number Six: Ice Cream

A/N: This is inspired by an in-depth analysis of the first season second ending animation by one of my favorite Oofuri doujin artists, Riri Ichinose, who does Sakaeguchi/Suyama doujin! Unfortunately, only three have been translated into English so far.

**Number Four and Number Six: Ice Cream **

It was no secret that Shoji Suyama was popular with girls.

Rather, it was no secret that Shoji Suyama was popular with girls, to everyone except Shoji Suyama.

Which was why it came as no surprise to Yuuto Sakaeguchi, privileged with the key vantage point of being the next person in line, when Suyama blithely thanked the pretty girl behind the counter for her service in the same way that he would thank anyone. Oblivious to her batted eyelashes and awkward positioning in an attempt to get Suyama to look down her shirt, he hummed softly as he peeled the paper wrapper off of his recently purchased fudge bar and stepped aside to wait for Sakaeguchi.

Sakaeguchi gave the girl a nervous grin, trying to communicate that he could understand exactly where she was coming from as he handed over the exact amount for the soft-serve ice cream cone that was currently in his left hand. He was rewarded for his efforts with a slight glare and a loud crack as she popped her gum against her cheek. Sighing, Sakaeguchi followed Suyama, who gave him a soft smile as the two of them walked out into the parking lot.

Yes, Sakaeguchi thought, he could understand exactly where that girl was coming from, because he had a front row seat, literally, to every whispered giggle that was thrown in Suyama's direction during class.

Suyama naturally attracted attention, not only for his large, athletic build but his calm and reassuring demeanor as well. Already, only a few months into the semester, Suyama had been established as Class One's most level headed and friendly member. Even on the first day of school, when Sakaeguchi had been nervously squirming in his seat the entirety of the morning, anxious about whether he'd get along with anyone in his class, Suyama had introduced himself casually at lunch and the two had struck up an easy conversation.

"That's probably when," Sakaeguchi mumbled to himself as the doors of the convenience store chimed merrily behind the two boys as they shut.

"Looks like everyone else left already."

Suyama's voice interrupted Sakaeguchi's train of thought. The distracted second baseman looked around the parking lot and was surprised to see that, in fact, the only two bicycles left were his and Suyama's.

"Do you want to sit and eat here for a moment, or you probably have to get home, right?" Suyama's usually calm face was a bit flushed as he said this before taking a large bite out of his fudge popsicle. Sakaeguchi winced.

"Doesn't that give you a headache? Or at least make your teeth hurt?"

Suyama shook his head, and then held out the popsicle to Sakaeguchi.

"Want to try some? It's pretty good."

Sakaeguchi shook his head as he fumbled with the wrapper on his soft-serve cone.

"No, I meant doesn't it hurt biting into it like that?" Sakaeguchi asked.

As he eyed Suyama's half-eaten dessert, the sudden image of Suyama licking it instead rose unbidden in Sakaeguchi's mind. It was suggestive to say the least, and Sakaeguchi found himself tugging at his school dress shirt so it came un-tucked, hiding certain other things from Suyama's view.

"Hey, want to sit down?" Sakaeguchi said, gesturing to a few empty benches that were scattered at the edges of the parking lot. His voice cracked awkwardly, and Sakaeguchi blushed again, hoping Suyama didn't notice.

"Sure thing," Suyama said happily. The two sat down in a companionable silence, listening to the cicadas drone softly into the muggy evening air.

"Say, Suyama, do you have a girlfriend?" Sakaeguchi blurted out. His face began to burn even before the words slipped out of his mouth haphazardly. To Sakaeguchi's surprise, Suyama's face had taken on an equally sudden, and uncharacteristic blush.

"Uh…I mean, you never talk about other girls even though they're always after you and stuff, I just thought…"

Sakaeguchi trailed off, finally choosing to stay quiet rather than insert his foot further into his mouth. Suyama blushed even harder.

"I don't, no," he finally answered. He picked his head up from staring at his nearly finished fudge bar to stare intently at Sakaeguchi.

"I do have someone that I like though."

Sakaeguchi couldn't help feeling a twinge of sadness at this confession, although, he thought to himself, it's not like he'd ever have a chance with Suyama anyway.

"Oh, that explains it," Sakaeguchi said quickly with a small laugh, chomping into his own ice cream carelessly, only to be rewarded with a sudden toothache.

"But, you know, baseball takes up most of my time anyway," Suyama said, still looking at Sakaeguchi.

"Yeah, baseball," Sakaeguchi said. "Hey, did you see that play the other day when—"

The two launched enthusiastically into a baseball conversation, eager to dispel the sudden awkward tension that had descended on their usually easygoing friendship. Soon an hour had passed, the ice cream long since eaten, with fewer and fewer cars stopping in the parking lot due to the late hour.

"I should probably get home," Suyama finally said, slowly rising up from his bench.

"I'm so sorry!" Sakaeguchi apologized as the two hurriedly made their way to their somewhat forgotten bicycles. "You have the longest ride out of all of us too."

Suyama shook his head as he reached for his bicycle, inadvertently brushing it against Sakaeguchi's.

"Don't worry about it," he said, blushing. "I had a great time talking with you."

"Are you sure you're not mad?" Sakaeguchi replied. "Your hand is freezing!"

Suyama flushed again, self-consciously hiding his hand against his side.

"It must have been the ice cream," he shrugged.


End file.
